Burst decoding of binary block codes onQ-ary output channels (Corresp.)

The burst-
b
distance between two binary vectors is defined and shown to be a metric. This definition is applied to a binary-input,
Q
-ary output channel where errors occur in bursts. A decoding algorithm is presented for such a channel that is an extension of Weldon's [2] weighted erasure decoding. Examples are presented illustrating the techniques.